Manchester United diminishing on Amorim’s watch

Opinion

Ruben Amorim is a professional football manager.

Under contract at Manchester United, it’s his job to assemble a coaching staff, train the first-team squad, advise on player transactions and oversee all aspects of matchdays, from picking the lineup and directing the tactics to making on-the-fly decisions regarding shape, substitutions and strategy.

Ultimately, he is paid — about $12 million per year — to win games. More practically, he’s at least required to produce results that show a certain trajectory, ideally while entertaining the club’s supporters.

At the same time, it’s his employer’s responsibility to ensure he has the necessary resources to perform to their satisfaction. They might, for example, back him with $420 million in the transfer market or revamp his training complex to the tune of $93 million — both of which, in this instance, they did.

Given those investments, it’s unlikely they’re much pleased when the team crashes out of the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking — and to fourth-tier Grimsby Town, no less.

Now, upsets are part and parcel of cup competitions. It’s part of what makes them so compelling. One-offs are allowed. But fool me twice?

How about twice last week.

On Sunday, United needed a Fulham own goal to get a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. Three days later, a few thousand Mariners’ fans stormed the Blundell Park pitch to celebrate Grimsby’s triumph at their expense.

On Saturday, they’ll host promoted Burnley (9 a.m., FuboTV). Ahead of kickoff, the pundits, panellists, play-by-play voices and other analysts will lean on that most unconvincing of football clichés: “It’s a match they should be winning.” Fair enough. But who are “they?”

Not Manchester United, surely.

Since Amorim’s arrival last November, the Red Devils have earned fewer points than games played. It’s a damning metric and, when extended over the course of a campaign, it’s the sort of record that put teams in the relegation zone three times in the last 10 years. In the other seven, it was good for 16th at best.

Appropriately, United came 15th last season with 42 points (exactly half the haul of title winner Liverpool) — their poorest showing in the Premier League era and worst overall since the 1973-74 season when they were relegated. In January, Amorim himself stated that his was “the worst team, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”

Hyperbole? Yes, just barely, but it’s notable that he made the remark less than two months after arriving at Old Trafford.

At the time the ex-Sporting Clube de Portugal boss had taken charge of 11 Premier League games, of which he’d won only three, and his teams had scored a paltry 12 goals in that span. They didn’t score at all during the busy Christmas schedule, which only diminished the quickly plummeting levels of cheer.

Erik ten Hag had been sacked for taking just 11 points from nine matches to start the season — a trend that, had it continued, would have returned 46. Amorim’s trend, when mapped over 38 games, generates 35.

That’s what’s really the issue here. Somehow, some way, he has managed to make Manchester United worse.

The numbers tell their own story, but so does the eye test. Every single United player has diminished on his watch. Each and every last one. Even his new signings have suddenly regressed.

Matheus Cunha, who scored 15 goals for Wolves last term, has an xGDiff (expected goals per 90 minutes minus actual goals) of -0.92. Bryan Mbeumo’s is -0.46, and he tallied 20 times for Brentford in 2024-25.

Goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, who’s started both Premier League games so far, somehow causes more goals than he saves, and erstwhile number-one André Onana has developed an uncanny ability to be exactly where the ball is not.

Defender Matthijs de Ligt is out of shape, midfielder Manuel Ugarte doesn’t understand his instructions, and Casemiro continues to decline — though that would’ve happened anyway.

Then there are the players who will never play for Amorim — and perhaps United — ever again. Marcus Rashford has already joined Barcelona, Alejandro Garnacho is awaiting a switch to Chelsea and Antony looks to be headed back to Real Betis. Jadon Sancho will shortly be moved on as well, and now Kobbie Mainoo wants to leave.

None of this gets better, and certainly not when Amorim, in his Friday press conference, states that “sometimes I hate my players; sometimes I love my players.”

If this was a workplace performance evaluation, which it sort of is, the 40-year-old would score F on attitude, F on interpersonal skills, F on productivity and F on quality of work.

As for where he’d like to be in five years, “This is my way of doing things and I’m going to be like that,” and “sometimes I want to quit,” are not exactly inspiring answers.

Though if he took the latter step, no one at United would stand in his way.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

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